Is Being Closed-Minded Costing You A Better Quality Of Life?

Have you ever came across someone who disagreed with your point of view with so much distain in their voice? Maybe you’ve even been this person. Whatever the case may be the reasoning behind this is that the person has a belief about the way something should be and is not willing to compromise on their belief.Being so closed-minded will stunt your problem solving abilities, creativity and your quality of life.

Is there a way to not compromise on your beliefs but still be able to experience more out of life?

Understanding Without Compromising

I for one have deeply rooted beliefs that I don’t plan to waver on, so I’m not suggesting throw everything out the window. I’ve just grown to learn that closed-mindedness can be more of a limitation to a person instead of being a form of protection for them.

Not being open to looking at anything from different angles inhibits you from gaining understanding. During a debate or an argument, the more you are able to take a step back and look at the issue from the other person's point of view, the more you will come to understand why they feel the way they do.

It’s worth noting that you don’t necessarily have to believe what the person is saying to be correct, you’ve just came to an understanding of why they feel the way they do. Being open-minded doesn’t mean that you’re the type to abandon your beliefs, it means that you are willing to grasp the way other’s think.

Instead of being closed-minded because of your beliefs, attempt to gain understanding of others. Understanding will, for one, bring compassion for others. No longer will you be condemning or judging others. A compassionate person is not one with an argumentative spirit.

Also, with understanding, you gain an idea for solutions that could benefit both you and others at the same time. A “win-win” for both parties.

Problem Solving & Creativity

Being open for understanding can drastically help with problem solving. With this new understanding, you are looking at the problem from a different angle. Now you are able to find different solutions that previously you were not looking for in your otherwise close-minded state.

Have you ever had a situation where you felt like you’ve tried everything and nothing seemed to work? Then one day you were looking at information in a place you wouldn’t normally look; and later that day a flash of an idea came to you on how to solve your problem? These are the times you are allowing your mind to be open to new information giving it another source to pull from and make connections for your problem solving.

When it comes to problem solving, widening your perspective will allow fresh ideas to come to you.

The more open you are to new experiences, the more you are allowing your brain to be enriched with fresh information. New experiences broaden your perspective by giving you new mental resources to pull from. This allows you to have more quality ideas for problem solving and creative endeavors.

When it comes to creativity, there’s almost no better way of refueling your creative juices then to be open to new experiences and fresh point of views. Releasing yourself from being closed-minded on how your creative process “should be” and trying new things will give you new creative ideas. Also, learning how other Creatives go about their process, even if they are in a different field than you, will inspire you to attack your process in a different way.

As a music creator, I would look at other big music influencers from time to time but one day I caught a video from Chase Jarvis which led me to his blog. Chase is a very creative and inspiring photographer and Creative and his art sparked my creative juices bringing more ideas to me. Especially when I began to check out his “Chase Jarvis Live” episodes, I begin to receive inspiration from many different artists and creatives from different fields. As a Creative, his shows are a must see.

Receiving new ideas allows you to process new information that you probably wasn’t previously aware of. This processing is like your mind being an incubator for ideas. As new information is brewing in your mind it begins to make new connections bringing about new creative ways to express your ideas.

Open For Better Quality

Practicing being more open-minded towards life and who you meet in your journey through life helps create a better quality of life. You open yourself up to try new things and within trying new things you can have experiences that connect you more with people. At the least, you’re able to say exactly why you don’t like a certain thing.

More often than not though, you find something that enriches your life. My wife and I made it a goal to try one new restaurant every month just so we could have a new experience with the different foods in our area. Just six months in and we’ve found so many places that we enjoy their specialty foods and the atmosphere.

We also have been gaining new experiences from traveling. I went from being one who never cared of taking a trip somewhere that wasn’t the east coast, to now enjoying being in a totally new place and experiencing the culture. Every trip we have taken broadened my perspective and created lasting memories with my wife. I also come home with more creativity flowing in me than what I left with.

Being open-minded for more experiences will definitely lead to a quality of life.

Discussion: Has there been a situation where you had trouble coming up with a solution until you gained inspiration from somewhere totally unrelated to your problem? Or can you relate to becoming open-minded towards someone else’s point of view and in doing so it allowed you to feel more compassion for that person? How has being open-minded help in your life and career? Comment and Share below!